Sunday, 14 August 2016

Batman v Superman: Critic's Whipping Boy...

First of all: I have not seen the theatrical cut of Zack
Snyder's latest smash-em-up blockbusting extravaganza – my first exposure to Batman
v Superman: Dawn of Justice has been in the 'Ultimate Edition' extended
cut, which adds 30 minutes of footage not found in the original version seen in
cinemas.

My first impression of the movie, however, was the stunning
critical backlash it received. The sheer hatred it drew from film critics
seemed to step beyond the parameters of reasonableness after a while. Indeed,
the lambasting that Suicide Squad has received from critics feels like
more of the same – a 'media narrative' with clickbait intentions. Considering
the mess that was Green Lantern, and the excessive destruction of Man
of Steel, some of the criticism aimed DC's way has been justifiably earned
– but to this degree? It's ridiculous – but a sensible middle-ground
opinion doesn't yell “DRAMA!” nor does it suck in curious surfers of the
web. As much as we know that article titles featuring phrases like “and
people can't handle it” or “what they look like now is unbelievable”
are nothing short of completely asinine, the curious cat inside us all still
itches and our index fingers click those links.

The truth of Batman v Superman, though, is that it
absolutely does not deserve the blood-soaked drubbing it has received. The 'too
long, didn't read' answer to “Was Batman v Superman unjustly savaged?”
is YES. But that is not to say Snyder's heavyweight effort isn't flawed –
because it most definitely is.

But let's not fart around any longer and get stuck in...

Click “READ MORE” below to continue...

One of the film's highlights is Ben Affleck's Batman – a
darker, gritter, more beaten-down and world-weary version of the character in
his greying middle age. The weight of twenty years of an endless cycle of crime
fighting has dragged him down and has, in the chilling words of Jeremy Irons'
Alfred (likewise welcome, and with a dry and weary wit), threatens to
turn a good man cruel.

Less successful is Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, whose
'billionaire son' version of the character comes across as uneven, swaying
between irritatingly theatrical and subtly menacing. At times he is convincing,
while at other times he is cartoonish and in search of a moustache to twirl. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, on the other hand, works well.
True, this film acts merely as a re-introduction to the character ahead of her
own spin-off movie (the trailer for which looks pretty darn good), but
consider me intrigued – BvS is a good taste of things to come with Diana
Prince.

Henry Cavill's Superman continues to be effective, if a bit
too keen on brooding, but the weight of expectations upon his God-like
shoulders gives meaning to his every action. And everyone else? They are pieces
of a much larger puzzle and suffer accordingly – particularly Amy Adams' Lois
Lane, although she does get more to do in this extended cut – but even in small
roles the supporting players are given some meat to chew on.

Speaking of meat, there are interesting themes at work
throughout – issues of moral uncertainty and how one man's hero is another
man's villain – even if they tend to be dealt with in a somewhat heavy-handed
manner. This is Zack Snyder with his serious face on while simultaneously
engaging his comic book fan mode, and accordingly the film starts off strong by
re-contextualising the climactic battle of Man of Steel. Now the curious
amount of destruction seems justified from a story perspective – albeit in
hindsight. As seen from Bruce Wayne's perspective, it becomes the inciting
incident, and sets in-motion mankind's questioning of Superman. That said,
aware of the frequent criticism for the city-obliterating destruction of Man
of Steel, once the chaos hits Batman v Superman's expansive third
act the film seems to be at pains to emphasise no innocent bystanders are at
risk. Several times we cut to government observers confirming that the latest
dose of punch-a-geddon mania is taking place in abandoned buildings, vacated
financial districts, and far-flung industrial zones after work hours. It's like
a running joke, but the fact they acknowledged the disaster movie finale of Man
of Steel is welcome – at least they're listening, but they should be
capable of ironing out these problems sooner.

Another aspect that works well, though, is the establishment
of the moral conflict between Batman and Superman – their points of view are
clear and make sense – and their titular punch-up, albeit brief in comparison
to the gargantuan running time, is memorable. What is also memorable – but for
the wrong reasons – is the 'Martha moment'. It's terribly clunky and,
considering how brutal their fight has been, it's a weak sauce antidote to
their respective animosity.

Causing issues from the outset, though, is the sheer
complexity of the plot. As detailed fully in Screen Junkies' “Honest Trailer”
for BvS, Lex Luthor's plan is not only overly-complicated, but it relies
on plot convenience and luck. We see this kind of plotting in a lot of major
movies nowadays – an abandoning of internal logic in favour of scripting short
cuts and throwaway convenience (e.g. superpowers only being employed when it
is narratively convenient). We need smarter writing, but with compressed
schedules – even having release dates set before the writing process has
actually begun – it's hardly surprising that the instances of plot holes are on
the rise. Similarly, as superhero movies are wont to do, the action escalates
to a ridiculously over-the-top climax that is more akin to a monster truck
rally inside an explosives factory on the 4th of July with a side
order of cheeseburgers and freedom fries. It's all a bit much – more isn't
necessarily better, it's just more.

Is it all done to give audiences a reason to leave their
sofas and Netflix subscriptions behind for a few hours? The fad of 3D, in its
latest iteration, has faded fast in the last few years. Now Hollywood thinks
all it has to offer is more computer generated imagery than anyone else. And
yet, with such a focus on box office hauls, might it not be wise to trim down
these ever-more jumbo sized finales and save some money on the budget? It would
likely prove to be cost effective and facilitate a healthier return on
investment. Yes, a movie like Batman v Superman has to be huge – but this
huge? Indeed, BvS had an immense amount of responsibility on its
shoulders (as I talked about in my review of Suicide Squad) as
well as a vast amount of hype leading into it. It never stood a chance of
contending with all of that. No movie needs to be this unwieldy, but when you
force a single film to be so many things at once, it's hardly surprising. DC
and Warner Bros. need to rediscover the virtues of narrative focus.

As for the extended cut? Even though I've not seen the theatrical
version, but judging by the comparison on Movie Censorship (an indispensable
resource for movie fiends), there's more room to breathe here – much like
with Snyder's three-hour Director's Cut of Watchmen. The complexity of
the plot is serviced by re-inserting need-to-know information, while the
battles get just a touch more oomph. But was said oomph enough to
justify the R-Rating bestowed upon it by the MPAA in North America? Absolutely
not – which is exactly why BvS' rating from the BBFC remained where it
was: 12.

Big, bold, brash, and excessive in almost all ways, Batman
v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a flawed and unfocused blitzkrieg of
superhero spectacle, and it engages the nerd zone – for good or ill. Lacking
the depth and well-balanced tone of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, BvS
is at least not lacking when it comes to expansive storytelling, even if it
does cause frustration. And yet the upshot is good old burger 'n' fries
entertainment. DC's cinematic output might be uneven, but their ability to
engage with dark ideas and have their villains genuinely threaten the lives of
their heroes, shows a valuable riposte to Marvel's fun-but-safely-controlled
output. The critical backlash to BvS went so far it became silly, but
that isn't to say there are not genuine criticisms to be levelled at this
movie. Flawed and over-sized, BvS nevertheless still has plenty to feel
good about.

About Me

I am a British freelance filmmaker, as well as a writer, movie fanatic, and zombie obsessive. I am the author of "Dug Deep" and the "Celebrityville" series of books, and write for Sleaze Fiend Magazine and Homepage of the Dead. I'm the screenwriter for the upcoming film "For Want of a Nail".
Of the many filmmakers who influence me, some are: Romero, Raimi, Carpenter, Cameron, Fincher, Tarantino, Rodriguez, Kubrick, Boyle, Zombie, Martino, Fulci, Argento, Cronenberg, Marshall, Smith, Nolan, Dominik, Scott, Mann, Hooper, De Palma, Leone, Spielberg and Zemeckis.